| Hong Kong-listed Pacific Basin Shipping has trimmed its chartered-in fleet by nine to 129 vessels amid the persistent weak bulk shipping market. The company’s bulk carrier fleet comprises 209 bulkers, of which 80 are self-owned, 40 on long-term charterparty, and 89 on index-linked or short-term charterparty, a stock filing of the company said today. In late February, the company operated 218 dry bulk ships, of which 80 are self-owned, 41 are long-term chartered, and 97 are on index-linked or short-term charters. “While we are currently neither buying nor taking ships on long-term charters, we continue to supplement our core fleet with low-rate, short-term inward chartered ships, which contribute to our service and our results even in this weak market,” the company added. In addition, Pacific Basin has reduced the size of the chartered newbuildings order book during the past month. It currently has 10 chartered newbuildings on order. In late February, it said it had 14 chartered newbuildings on order. Pacific Basin also has 18 owned newbuildings on order. The self-owned and chartered newbuildings are scheduled for delivery over the next two years. “We continue to take a cautious view on the freight earnings outlook in the medium term,” the company added. |